“To be honest I am scared of what it would be like if i wasn’t on the top rung, if the tables were turned, and I didn’t have my white boy privilege safety blankie to protect me,” Royce Mann recited at the poetry contest.

Mann’s message was a plea from a 14-year-old white male going to a private school in Atlanta: let everyone share his privileges.

“I love it because when I see a police officer, I see someone who’s on my side,” he recited.

Mann told CBS News he is just trying to be truthful.

“And that I wouldn’t trade places with anyone,” he said. “Because I think a lot of people aren’t truthful about that.”